Puppies Always Win
by giacinta
Summary: Pure brotherly fluff. Sam's eyes always win. A sincere thank you to everyone who favoured, alerted or reviewed. I have now added a Fifth Chapter. Some more brotherly smoochiness!
1. Chapter 1

Puppies Always Win.

X

"Come on, Dean. Get your lazy ass off that bed and come running with me. It'll get the blood pumping round your body."

"Whaaaat! You're joking,Sam! Dean Winchester doesn't do running. That's for prissy princesses like yourself; and don't give me that bitch-face!

X

"You're lucky I don't bite too, Doofus, 'cos sometimes you say the stupidest things!"

X

"You don't think that trying to avoid getting strangled or flung about by monsters gets the blood flowing fast enough, man?"

"That's different and you know it. This ìs healthy exercise! Then...I ..I'd really like it if you came along; it keeps my mind off other things..."

"...-..."

"Okay, okay, you don't have to turn on the puppy-eyes! I'll come, but don't think it's gonna become a habit. I'm just feeling generous today."

X

"You want a pair of my track pants; you could turn the bottoms up...!

You don't have to glare at me, Dean. I just thought they'd be more comfortable than running in jeans."

X

"Dean Winchester doesn't do shorts OR track-suits. Do you know me at all, Sam?"

"Unfortunately I do Dean. I just thought that with you getting past thirty your tastes in clothes might have matured a little!"

X

"Oh, cos, you're Mr Top Model himself, Sam! Some of the stuff you wear is just unbelievable. Those girly pink shirts for one thing and hoodies like kids do."

"There's nothing wrong with my shirts and anyway they all have sentimental value associated with them."

x

"Right , what about that tunic thing you pull out sometimes. If that's not girly, I don't know what is!

NO, not the sad puppies now...! What did I say to set them off?"

X

"That.. that ...shirt was the one I wore when we celebrated the last Christmas before you died, and I had it on in the motel room the day you got out of Hell, Dean.

I don't care what you think of it; even when it's reduced to shreds; I'm gonna hang on to it and the hoodie kept me company the four months you were down there in the Pit, Dean; so don't knock it.

It's the same one you wore that day when we went to the faith healer Roy LeGrange and he saved your life. It made me feel as if a little bit of you was near to me when I... ."

X

"Hey, I'm sorry, Sammy. I didn't realize... Come on then let's go do this, but it's the first and last time... Stop it with the eyes Sam...I said stop it!

X

XXXX The enD XXXXX


	2. Chapter 2

Puppies Always Win

X

Chapter Two

X

Dean was happy; well, as happy as a Winchester could be!

He had just dined satisfyingly on juicy burgers and cool beer; he had won a couple of grand at pool from a trio of half-drunk guys who would have been better occupied spending their time, and saving their money, by staying home and ploughing their fields, and thirdly he had his Baby gassed up and ready to go; his ass comfortably settled on her leather seat.

Yep, everything was all right in his world.

He had food bagged up for Sam who had preferred catching up with his research, and had stayed back at the motel room.

x

He whistled as he entered; Sam's wide shoulders were curved over his lap-top, his unruly hair curling past his shirt collar.

Time for a trim, Dean thought to himself, but he knew that Sam and his hair had a "special" relationship and the more you bitched to him about it, the more stubbornly he refused to consider cutting it.

One of these days, some fugly would realize that yanking on his hair would be a very efficient way to immobilize his gigantic little brother, but up until now it seemed that the bad guys hadn't cottoned on.

X

"Hey, Sammy. I've brought you the goodies. Everything a Sasquatch like yourself could desire!"

"Thanks, Dean, but I'm not really hungry." Sam answered in a small voice; and Dean began to feel his happiness starting to lose it's rush.

x

"Sammy; What's wrong?" he asked, his big brother radar twitching like a Geiger counter.

"Nothing; It's... just stupid," Sam said as he went to joggle the mouse and cancel whatever it was that he had been observing on the screen; but he unexpectedly found Dean's hand on top of his own, stopping his finger from clicking.

x

"Dean, I said it's nothing!" Sam huffed.

"Nothing my ass! You look as if a ten ton lorry just ran over your best friend!"

"You're my best friend, Dean," his brother observed sourly. "So Yeah; I suppose I would be upset."

"Sam! Don't try to wiggle out of this. Let me see what's got you all shook up."

Dean turned his eyes to the screen where to his surprise, a photo of himself stared back at him.

X

"Really, Sam! What the Hell! You're upset because your looking at a mug shot of me? You're gonna have to clarify a little bit here, dude.

I mean you ride with me all day long in the Impala. We live practically in each other's pockets and yet you get upset by an on-line photo.

That's weird even for you Sammy!"

x

Sam's lips curled up in a fleeting smile.

Dean always had the power to make him feel better.

X

"I told you it was nothing, Dean," Sam repeated, hoping that it would all end there, but Dean could be just as stubborn as his little brother, especially when it concerned said little brother's well being.

" Spit it out, Sam. You do not go all sad puppy-eyed on me without a reason. No rabbit food for our resident doggy unless you tell all!"

But Sam was a Zen-master in stubborn, easily besting his big brother; and he pursed his lips together in a firm line.

X

Dean turned his gaze back to the screen.

There must be something in that photo that had upset his kid brother.

He studied it carefully.

It was one of the police shots taken during the bank hostage fiasco He was a few years younger in it but otherwise it was just a normal image.

He was about to give up and let Sam keep his little secret, when the answer exploded in his brain. A little object could be seen there that he no longer possessed.

X

X

"Sammy, I'm sorry. I really am. I would give my right hand to be able to go back and change what I did."

"What are you talking about, Dean," Sam bluffed, finally closing down the page.

"Sam. Look at me! I know exactly how that freaky brain of yours works!"

X

Sam lifted his wide eyes to meet his and as usual they pierced right through him.

They had a power over him that he couldn't explain, but his little brother's eyes were his big weakness, and Sam's greatest lever in making him do anything the little shit wanted, except when it actively endangered said little brother's life.

X

"I was a douche-bag; all right! I should never have thrown the amulet away. I still don't know if what Zachariah showed us in Heaven was real or not

You know what's funny, Sam? I hoped that somehow you had fished it out of the trash-can, but you didn't did you? I deserve to have lost it.

I can't blame anyone but myself."

X

He felt Sam eyes boring into him, searching out the truth.

He must have been satisfied by what he saw for he went to his duffle and pulled out a little paper bundle.

"This is for you Dean." He held out his hand to his big brother.

X

Dean's heart skipped a beat; he fervently hoped the badly wrapped little package contained what he thought it did.

He stripped off the paper delicately as he had done all those years ago, and repeated the same words he had uttered then.

"Thanks, Sam I love it." so exchanging a pledge of brotherhood once more with his little brother whose puppy eyes were glazed with unshed tears , warming Dean's heart with their love and affection.

X

XXXX The enD XXXX


	3. Chapter 3

No Secrets.

XXXX

Sam finished adjusting his tie in front of the cracked bathroom mirror.

Although he wasn't particularly vain about his looks, he knew that he and Dean too, definitely rendered at their best in a suit.

He also knew that women found them both attractive, and that Dean had no qualms in using all his god-given attributes in finding female company wherever and whenever he felt like it.

Sam sighed.

He wished he had that easy demeanour towards the fairer sex. His relationships with girls were to say the least "complicated."

X

Even during his college years with Jess things hadn't been entirely honest and straightforward. He had hidden the hunting part of his life from her and in so doing, he knew that he had contributed to her death.

Yeah, he was aware now that he had been surrounded by demons back then, but he should have been more careful. He had naively brought attention down on her just through his simple frequentation.

His later attempts hadn't fared any better; Madison to whom he had been instantly attracted had turned out to be a werewolf, then the whole Ruby affair had been an immense tragedy, leading to nothing short of the Apocalypse. Yeah, great call Sam!

After Ruby however, he had withdrawn from any sort of relationship that wasn't a one night stand, and even that only when he felt that he would explode if he didn't have at least that occasional release.

He envied Dean's casual approach to sex but he had always needed to form some kind of connection with a girl before feeling at ease in going further.

Just add it to the list of freaky Sam Winchester quirks, he thought ironically.

X

X

Once his greatest desire had been to get away from the life his father had dictated that he and Dean were going to be brought up in; a life full of danger and fear.

He had railed against it since that Christmas when he had been nine years old and Dean had finally revealed the truth to him. He had suspected that something was up beforehand, but John was such a powerful presence that it was difficult to get anything out of him that he wasn't willing to share.

He understood why Dean hadn't told him. until it was absolutely necessary.

Dean had been his protector. No! Dean had been his everything from as far back as he could remember and his big brother had known instinctively that his childish self would have been upset in finding out the true implication of the life they led, and he had tried to protect his little brother; much as he still continued to do even now that he was six feet four of pure muscle.

Whatever would he have done without Dean?

His brother knew everything about him, how to comfort him, make him m laugh, lighten the atmosphere and pull him out of his broody funks when they came over him.

Dean had, and still did so much for him, and what did he give him in return, nothing but worry and complications.

X

X

"Sam!" his brother's voice rang out as he burst into the bathroom, his energetic presence filling the small room.

"What the Hell are you still doing in here? We're not going to the Presidential Ball you know, only to get a few answers to some questions about a case. I swear you're worse than a freakin' girl!"

X

"I'm ready Dean; I was just finishing up with the tie." Sam answered casually, down playing his delay in exiting the bathroom. .

"Sam! Look at me!" his brother ordered. "Huh, I knew it. Puppy-eyes about to glaze over! Sam Winchester brood-fest-Phase One! Good job I caught it early, it's easier to defuse at this stage. Dude, this is not the time for your soul-searching hog-wash! We're on a case here, so don't let that freaky brain of yours go off on a tangent."

"Off on a tangent" Dean! I swear that your vocabulary is improving the older you get" Sam huffed, annoyed that Dean could always instantly sense his mood swings. "Anyway you're wrong this time. I wasn't brooding," he retorted. "I was simply thinking!"

X

"Shut up, Sam! I know every notion that goes through that stubborn head of yours; 'cos I raised you and I can read you like a book, so don't try and tell me what you're thinking! "

"Right. You're a telepath now, Dean. We'll add that to your list of talents. You can't know what I'm thinking! It's impossible! I don't care how well you think you know me!"

X

"'Kay. The hunting life is a douche! You always wanted normal and you couldn't have it! You have a problem when it comes to casual sex and you think you're weighing me down and that I'd be better of without you. How'm I doin'? " Dean smirked.

Sam's eyes opened impossibly wide and he felt the words of denial about to burst through his lips but the sight of Dean's grinning face stopped the words dead in their tracks, as a smile started to curl around his mouth, erupting into a full blown laugh, relieving all the tension that had been building up inside him.

"What did I tell you Sammy?" Dean crowed as he hammered home his win." I CAN read you like a book, so get your ass out of here and let's get to work!"

X

Sam followed his brother meekly out to the Impala, still metaphorically shaking his head at his brother's intuition.

He stole a glance at him from under his eyelashes as Dean circled the Impala to the driver's side; he was beginning to wonder if his brother really did have telpathic powers. Well, stranger things had happened in their lives after all.

As if he had heard what Sam was thinking, Dean met his eyes and winked!.

X

XXX The enD XXX


	4. Chapter 4

Big Brothers Know Best!

XXXX

Dean rubbed the sleep from his eyes, pushed back the threadbare sheets and fumbled his way to the toilet. Winchesters are as prone to the call of nature as everyone else and Dean emerged from the bathroom feeling infinitely lighted than when he had entered.

He was still feeling drowsy however, as he looked over to his brother's bed, expecting to see Sam in his octopus impersonation, long limbs hanging over the edges of the bed, but no Sam was forthcoming.

X

Huh, Sam must have gone out to get breakfast, he decided.

Never quite tranquil when his brother was out of his sight, Dean pulled back the none too clean curtain on the window and peeked out.

His Baby was gone too and that fact reassured him. If some fugly had wanted to kidnap Sam, he certainly wouldn't have bothered to take the Impala along.

X

He was already anticipating the coffee and food that Sam would be bringing back, and when he heard the Impala roaring into the parking space a couple of minutes later, he felt himself beginning to salivate like Pavlov's dog. Well that guy certainly got it right, Dean mused, ruminating over one of the notions that had stuck with him from school.

Get a guy used to something wonderful like coffee and you're gonna drool even before you taste it.

X

He moved to the chair where he had thrown down his duffle the night before and pulled out a pair of socks, sniffing dubiously before he sat down to pull them on. They had to absolutely stop by the nearest Laundromat before doing anything else today, otherwise the monsters would be able to smell them coming from the next town over.

X

X

X

"Hey Sam, I just know I trained you right, man. Going out for coffee for your awesome big brother without any bitching is ….!"

He stopped in mid- sentence as his eyes fell on Sam who had just stepped over the thresh-hold, and he nearly took a heart attack.

"Sam, what the Hell! What have you done to yourself," Dean exclaimed aghast, as he took in his little brother's appearance.

"What are you talking about Dean? I haven't done anything," Sam shrugged as he went towards the rickety table and put down the coffee and pie that he had brought with him; Dean's eyes following him incredulously.

X

Sam had cut off his hair.

It was even shorter than his own.

Dean got up from the chair, his sock half-on, as he came to stand at his brother's side.

X

"Sammy. Why?" Dean asked simply.

Sure he had always bitched at his brother about his long girly hair but he hadn't meant any of it; it was just one of those things that they bantered about; a standing joke without any true heat behind it.

Dean felt a pull at his heartstrings at the thought of his brother sitting in a barber's chair watching, as he let him cut off the hair that he had been so stubbornly attached to since he was old enough to say no to a hair-cut.

X

"What are you making such a fuss about, Dean? I cut my hair….so!... You and Dad were always telling me that hunters should have short hair; it gives the bad guys less of a hold on you. I just decided it was time," Sam minimized.

X

Dean turned his brother roughly towards him, eyes aflame.

X

"Right and you have listened to me... since WHEN…?! That might go down with someone who doesn't know you as I do, Sammy; but this is me, remember!... Dean, your big brother, and I know you better than you do yourself." he insisted.

As usual, Sam's puppy eyes were the mirror of his soul and Dean could see that he had been rummaging around inside that soul. To anyone else going for a hair-cut meant nothing, but for Sam it was tantamount to another Apocalypse

X

"Spit it out Sam or I swear I'll tie you down and tickle your feet until you die laughing!" Dean threatened, aware that his brother's sensitive feet had always been a sore point since he was a toddler.

"Do your worst, Man," Sam answered apathetically; "I just decided it was time for a trim; why can't you just be good with that?"

Dean searched his face with probing eyes.

"You know that once upon a time people would cut their hair in penance to make up for sins they had committed; this whole thing with your hair, it wouldn't be for something like that now, would it?

X

His brother looked away and Dean knew that he had struck a nerve.

He slid his hands down Sam's arms and gently shook him, before taking a step back.

X

"So it's a penance for some bad thing you think you've done, right? I knew it!"

X

"I don't deserve you Dean, " Sam burst out. "You've always looked after me and stuck by me and at the first chance I get I run off and leave you, Stanford, Ruby, Robo-Sam. Who knows what else I'll do next, if I get half a chance," Sam said plaintively, escalting to a roaring tide now that the flood gates had opened.

Dean just stood there and let him vent, then curling his hands back round his brother's biceps, he repeated in the most threatening tone he could come up with.

"Now you just listen to me Sam Winchester! I don't want to hear any of this ever again. Do you hear me?

And when that shaggy mop of yours grows back in, I'm gonna damn well defend it to the death. Do you understand me? Anyone who lays a hand on your hair and that includes YOU, is gonna be one very sorry dude!

You wanna cut your hair? Fine! But swear to me that you will never cut your hair for such a stupid reason, ever again!

Have I made myself clear? Sam?"

X

Sam just gazed at his big brother.

Sam didn't have much self-esteem and he didn't consider himself particularly lovable, so he never stopped marvelling at how Dean could feel such love for an unworthy person such as himself; but even if he was lacking in self-love, Sam knew that his love for his big brother was every bit as boundless.

X

XXXX The enD XXXX


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five.

* * *

X

An Apple A Day

XXXXXXXXX

"Catch," Sam called as he lobbed the orange at his brother. "Don't say I don't look out for your health."

"Huh," Dean answered as he caught the projectile with one hand. "Apples and oranges are kinda your line of business, Sammy," he smirked.

Sam rolled his eyes in a long practiced way and laid the rest of his supplies on the table.

"Vitamin C's good for you, Dean. Remember what happened when Patrick turned you into an old-timer. Your heart nearly gave out; did give out..., " he corrected, "...with all those hamburgers you'd pushed down during the years. From now on I'm gonna make it my brotherly duty to get you to eat more fruit and veg." Sam declared convinced.

"Dude," Dean objected testily. " I'm not a kid who needs to be told what to eat."

"Yeah, Dean. That's it exactly. You're not a kid any more. You turned 33 last birthday and you gotta start taking better care of yourself; so just...eat the oranges okay!"

X

"Sam, you all right? Are you sure we're just talking citrus fruits here?"

Dean knew his brother better than himself and the eating fruit and veg crap was just the tip of the iceberg. His little brother was brooding and a brooding Sam had to be contrasted as quickly as possible!

"I'm fine, " Sam shrugged with what Dean recognized as his 'I'm not really fine but if you insist, I'll tell you what's worrying me' shrug.

"Out with it Sammy," Dean ordered as he advanced purposefully into his brother's personal space. "Whatever it is, you're gonna end up telling me anyway; might as well cut short the time!"

"It's nothing, man. I..I just wish you'd take better care of yourself, is all. Monsters and demons aren't the only thing that can take you out."

"Oh, come on Sam. That man-witch made me grow old through a spell. It doesn't mean that I'm going to die from an overdose of hamburgers. I've always told you that old-age isn't going to be an option for us anyway. We'll probably go out with a claw-slash to the chest. Why take it out on the poor burgers!"

"Dean, it's just.. I don't want to be the one who gets left behind. You've gotta take better care of yourself. I've been on my own without you before and look how freaked up that turned out! I just want us to go out together," Sam pleaded his puppy eyes glazed with unshed tears.

"Aw, Sammy, it's not gonna happen," Dean answered clapping a consoling hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm not gonna leave you, and even if it happens, you'll be fine on your own. Go for the apple -pie life, become some big-time lawyer. It's what you've always wanted. "

"No, Dean, " Sam answered vehemently. "Once I thought so, but that was in another life-time. I'm not that guy any more. You and me, that's all we've got Dean and that's all I want or need."

X

Dean sighed. Sometimes he wondered how he managed to put up with his emo little brother but he already knew the answer. He loved Sam more than life itself; in fact he had willingly given it up to save him just as Sam had jumped into the Cage to save him. Their bond of brotherhood was now forged with chains of steel.

"Sammy," Dean murmured, moved by his brother's words; he already knew the depths of Sam's love for him but hearing it expressed made him nearly as emo as Sam.

He placed both hands on his brother's shoulders. "Listen, Sammy. I promise not to leave you, if you promise the same, okay?"

Sam nodded tremulously and the beginning of a smile appeared on his lips.

X

"Bring on the fruit and veg, dude," Dean bitched in surrender. "I'll eat it as a side plate to my burger if that's what it takes to keep you from brooding."

Sam's watery smile grew into a full blown grin as he emptied the bags of fruit on to the table, inwardly amused by Dean's grimace at the sheer quantity of the healthy eating he was expected to indulge in to keep his little brother happy!

As far as Dean was concerned, Sam knew he had the puppies down to a fine art, and if he used them now and them for a little brotherly manipulation, well, there was nothing wrong with that!

X

XXXx The enD XXXXX


End file.
